by N Felts
an answer. When his goddess fails to respond right away, his heart is filled with dread.
“The less you can see,” Mai mumbles aloud, deep in thought. “I’ve got it!” She finally declares after a time. “It’s a tricky one. Not the less you can see of it, the less you can see period. Darkness.”
“You are darkness,” the boy declares with a tired confidence.
“Be warned,” the ghost unexpectedly announces, leaning forward and resting a forearm on his knee. “The treasure you seek is guarded by a fierce evil. Should you fail to best it, you will join the others below,” he concludes, returning to his meditative posture as he fades away.
“Others?” Rift asks, stepping forward. “What others? Hey!”
“Another trick,” Mai assures, appearing next to the boy and staring at the spot where the specter vanished. “It’s a last ditch effort to keep you from the treasure. Forget about him. Let’s go get that armor!” Simply shaking his head, Rift claims his key and exits the room. He is far too fatigued to consider the phantom’s words, and besides, Mai is probably right. The trek over the walkways spanning above the pit of flesh and screams is uneventful, and finally the boy has reached the final door. Large chains staked into the stone walls bar entry, each of the strands held together by a simple, but large lock clasped at the center. One by one, Rift plunges the keys into the metallic mechanisms, the locks falling open and swinging aside until the door stands free with a half dozen separated chains dangling on either side. Pulling the heavy door open reveals a mighty spire, the continual staircase rounding the walls, but broken in several sections. Shortly after commencing the climb, the boy requires Mai’s helping hand to cross gaps where the stone steps have collapsed. Sprinting a couple steps up the wall, his goddess swings him forward as he runs, generating enough momentum to reach the higher sections of stairs. Finally reaching the top of the dim tower, Rift stops in his tracks when his companion suddenly calls out to him.
“Hey!” She blurts out, assimilating before him. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” she warns, holding up a halting hand while she ventures into the room. Only three steps onto the platform leading through the open archway to the next room, the floor cracks apart and Mai falls through. Several long seconds pass before the pieces of stone can be heard smashing to the ground far below.
“Good call,” Rift has to admit, managing not to panic when he sees her in danger this time around. Without hesitation, he leaps into the air, taking Mai’s hand and swinging the short distance into the next area. The massive dome is stained with dried blood and gore, the room’s shimmering floor illuminated just enough to see a short distance ahead. Proceeding carefully, Rift twists and ducks his way through a tangled mesh of barbed wire, forming a very loosely knit netting around the perimeter of the room. The center of the chamber holds exactly what the duo were hoping for, a large treasure chest standing alone. Wasting no time, the boy dashes over and throws the lid back, finding intimidating plate mail inside. A joyful smile steals over his face as he pulls the armor out of the box, the cuirass revealed to be a mixture of midnight blue, and the same ghostly hue of his tunic. After strapping the armor on, he touches the symbols emblazoned upon the chest in a dark gold just beneath his clavicle. On one side, a single triangle is obviously meant to symbolize Mai’s prison within the Triforce. It is the other symbol that causes confusion. A crescent moon is proudly displayed on the opposite side, the meaning of which is lost on him.
“You look badass,” Mai cheers flirtatiously, appearing briefly and making minor adjustments.
“Thanks,” Rift smiles, getting a feel for the weight of the cuirass. “I’m sure I’ll feel badass once we’re out of this place.” Expecting the entire tower to begin collapsing, the boy is pleasantly surprised as he turns to make his exit. Nothing changes, and it seems the Sheikah ghost was simply trying to scare him. Suddenly, a slow and steady scraping noise sounds from behind, like a sewer grate being drug atop a sidewalk. Gradually coming into view, a horrendous monster dragging an object behind it slows to a stop near the center of the platform. Wrapped in disgusting cloth from head to toe, it resembles the ReDeads aside from its significantly larger size. Dragging sporadic lengths of unraveled cloth in its wake, the ghoul lifts its absurdly large cleaver into the air before smashing the open treasure chest to nothing but splinters. The force from the impact causes the perimeter of the floor the break apart, dropping the circular base of the room a brief distance, and leaving the platform dangling by the plethora of barbed wire stabbing through at the edges. Turning back toward the spire he climbed to reach the room, Rift’s heart sinks as it cracks loudly, tipping slowly away before breaking off and falling into the endless abyss of darkness below. The scraping sound resumes, and it becomes clear he’ll have to fight.
Quickly circling away from the monstrosity, the boy considers how he should attack, carefully sticking to the edges of the platform. The consistent scraping continues, like a sword against a grindstone until the monster reaches the spot where he first saw Rift. With a great deal of effort, it twists its body around before a mighty swing hacks through several strands of wire, causing the platform to tip slightly. An immediate about face later, the sword-wielding mummy begins to march across to the other side.
“He’s going to kill us all if he keeps that up!” Mai points out, sensing the boy’s anxiousness to engage. “You’ve got to take him out before he chops the rest of those wires!” Heeding her advice, Rift dashes forward, moving infinitely more quickly than the zombie. Aiming to deal as much damage as possible before his foe can turn around, the boy throws a quick one-two punch, finishing the short combo with a powerful leg-kick. The force from the blow buckles the ghoul’s leg briefly, but as it reels from the damage done, a familiar and terrible scream bursts from its throat.
“No,” Rift mouths, frozen in place once again. The mummy’s erratic, twitching movements fill the boy’s vision as it slowly turns to face its prey. Once again, Mai appears to calmly console her chosen as the monster winds up a powerful swing. Unable to focus on her pretty face, Rift’s thoughts betray him, constantly reminding he is about to be cleaved in two. Though his muscles begin to relax upon the goddess’s touch, it is far too late as the rusty blade swings through Mai, and collides with the boy’s torso. A brief, agonizing cry of pain escapes Rift’s lungs before he skips along the ground and collides with the angled barbed wire net, bouncing a short distance into the air before landing flat on his stomach. The vibrating wire behind him slowly returns to its stationary position, the irritating sound fading away as the boy climbs off the ground. Struggling to return to his senses, he hears the grinding noise approaching from every direction as he fails to determine his bearings. Vainly attempting to stumble away from the approaching enemy, another shriek firmly grips his spine, pulling all of his muscles so tightly he feels they will burst at any moment. Finally his senses sharpen and the ghoul has nearly reached striking range, dragging its blade and closing on the left. Fed up with the unfair tactic, Mai appears in front of Rift with a radically different plan.
“Snap!” She shouts, firmly slapping the boy across the face. “Out of it!” She concludes, following with an equally powerful backhand. Shocked by her sudden violence, Rift grabs his cheek and prepares to protest when he realizes the sword is already arcing toward him. Dashing away in the blink of an eye saves him from the assault, but the overzealous attack manages to destroy another large collection of wires, wobbling the platform violently. His time wearing thin, the boy dashes in for another attack, combining a cross and a hook before finishing with a heavy roundhouse kick to the ribs. Knowing the counter is coming, he immediately dashes away as the scream bursts into the air, but it fails to have the desired effect this time around. Though his limbs temporarily tighten, Rift is not in close enough proximity to suffer complete paralysis. The monster turns and lumbers in his direction, but the boy dashes around behind him with ease. An upper
cut to the spine followed by three relentless leg kicks is enough to cause the mummy’s knee to buckle as it topples to the ground. Sick and tired of this terrible place, Rift pounces upon his fallen foe, straddling its heaving chest and pummeling its head with vicious right hands. Certain the zombie is at death’s door, the boy cannot believe his ears when another scream freezes his knuckles just before they collide for the fifth time.
“Look out!” Mai screams, but to no avail as the grounded ghoul twirls its sword across its chest, throwing Rift across the battleground like a ragdoll. Hitting the wire suspending the platform with a visceral force, the boy flies completely through, snapping the metallic strands apart and colliding with the outer wall with a painful crunch. The entire platform gives way, the wires suspending it finally succumbing to the structural damage inflicted upon them as it swings downward like a trap door. Tumbling down toward certain death, Rift is kicked over into a preferable trajectory by Mai, narrowly missing a particularly nasty series of bloody wires. His leg skips off the top of another strand before